Chuanxing vegetable, also known as Tengzizi, Dihe rice, spicy, and sesame-eyed herb. It is a herbaceous plant of the Brassicaceae family, with a one-year or biennial life cycle. It is mainly distributed in China, North Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Russia, with the northeastern, northwestern, northern, and southwestern regions of China being the most common. The tender stems, leaves, and pods are edible. There are three main edible species of Chuanxing vegetable: Chuanxing vegetable, North American Chuanxing vegetable, and wrinkled leaf Chuanxing vegetable. Chuanxing vegetable has strong anti-cancer and anti-promoting activity, and it is highly valued in cultivation.
1. Morphological characteristics
1. Chuanxing vegetable
The plant is 5-30 cm tall, with an upright stem that often branches at the top, and with small glandular hairs or no hair. The basal leaves are in rosettes, long and narrow, pinnately shallow or deeply lobed, and the stem leaves are linear with sparse teeth or entire margins. The corymbose inflorescence is borne at the top of the stem, with small, white, and degenerate petals. The siliques are elliptical in shape with narrow wings. The flowering period is from April to June, and the fruiting period is from June to July.
2. North American Chuanxing vegetable
The plant is taller, 30-50 cm in height, with branching stems and columnar glandular hairs. The basal leaves are opposite, lanceolate and pinnately lobed, with serrated edges and long petioles; the stem leaves have short petioles, are lanceolate or linear, with entire or serrated edges, and are hairless on both sides. The terminal corymbose inflorescence has many small, white, and bisexual flowers. The silicles are flattened and round. The flowering period is from March to May, and the fruiting period is from May to July.
3. Wrinkled leaf Chuanxing vegetable
The plant is 20-50 cm tall, with an upright stem that does not branch or branches rarely. The leaves are few, green, and sometimes wrinkled like parsley. The flowers are white or slightly red. The siliques are thin, and the seeds and leaves have a strong spicy taste.
2. Cultivation techniques
Chuanxing vegetable is propagated by seeds and grows rapidly, taking 15-20 days from sowing to harvest. It can be grown all year round using various simple facilities. The cultivation techniques mainly include the following aspects:
1. Cultivation of seedlings
In suitable temperature seasons, sow in stages in open fields and harvest in batches. In hot summers, it can be intercropped under tall crops or covered with shade to cool the temperature. In the cold winters of the north, it can be grown in sunlight greenhouses. After preparing the land and applying base fertilizer, make beds and sow broadcast or in rows. The seeding rate is 37.5-45 kg per hectare (2.5-3 kg per 667 square meters). After sowing, cover with a thin layer of fine soil or simply sweep the surface with a broom to allow the seeds to fall into the soil cracks. Tamp the soil, water, and keep it moist. Generally, after 2 weeks of emergence, the tender stems and leaves can be harvested in stages, when the plant height is about 15 cm. The tender pods can be harvested before the flowers fall.
2. Sprout cultivation
(1) Seed treatment
Soak the seeds in warm water for half a day, then wash them several times with clean water to remove the mucilage, and let them dry before sowing.
(2) Germination containers
Containers such as pots and seedling trays can be used. After cleaning, line the bottom with filter paper, evenly spread the seeds on the container, cover with a black plastic film, and place it indoors at 20-23°C. Remove the film and spray water 1-2 times a day after germination. After 1 week, remove the black film to expose the plants to light and promote greening. Harvest can be done in about 10 days.
3. Cultivation for pickling ingredients
In the northern winter, Chuanxing vegetable is used as an ingredient for pickles. It can give the pickles a slightly spicy taste, increase people's appetite, and extend the storage period of pickles. Chuanxing vegetable for pickling should be harvested in the autumn, so the sowing period should be arranged in the fall. When sowing, sow shallow furrows with a row spacing of 15-20 cm on well-prepared beds. The seeding rate is 1-1.5 kg per 667 square meters, and the soil should be covered with a layer of 1-1.5 cm thick. Keep the soil moist. After the first true leaves appear, thin the seedlings and remove weeds. When the seedlings are 6-10 cm tall, apply quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer 1-2 times, using 15 kg of urea diluted in water per 667 square meters each time, and keep the bed moist. Harvest when the plants are 15-20 cm tall in mid-October for use in winter pickled vegetables.
4. Cultivation for seed production
The seed production field should be plowed and sun-dried before winter, or plowed early in spring and base fertilizer applied before making beds. Additional phosphorus and potassium fertilizers should be applied, such as ammonium phosphate at 20 kg per 667 square meters and potassium chloride at 15 kg per 667 square meters, mixed with irrigation fertilizer. Generally, sow in late April or early May.
(1) Planting density
Sow shallow furrows with a row spacing of 10-15 cm. The seeding rate is 0.5-1 kg per 667 square meters. Thin the seedlings when they reach 5-6 cm apart, and the plant density should reach 75,000 plants per 667 square meters. Cover the seeds with soil about 1.2 cm thick.
(2) Management
Thin the seedlings after the true leaves appear, and thin the seedlings when they are about 8 cm tall. Apply fertilizer once after the plants start branching, and apply fertilizer again when flower buds appear. Use 20 kg of ammonium phosphate and 15 kg of potassium chloride per 667 square meters each time. This will promote the growth of lateral branches and increase the number of pods per plant.
(3) Harvest
The full production period of spring-sown seeds is 60-70 days, with harvest completed from late June to early July, with an average yield of 30 kg. When half of the pods turn yellow, cut the plants, dry and thresh them, and store them in a cool and dry place after removing impurities.
